Scorsese Wins First DGA Prize

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese

Zap2It.com

As expected, Martin Scorsese won the Directors Guild of America award on Saturday (Feb. 3) night for his work on "The Departed."

It was Scorsese's first in-competition DGA prize after taking a Lifetime Achievement honor back in 2003. The win comes nearly two weeks after Scorsese took his second career Golden Globe for best director, but three weeks before the big event -- Scorsese's seemingly inevitable virgin coronation at the Academy Awards.

Scorsese had previously been nominated by the DGA for "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," "Goodfellas," "The Age of Innocence," "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator."

The Directors Guild victory for "The Departed," while almost a foregone conclusion, snapped the early-2007 awards momentum for "Little Miss Sunshine." The quirky comedy received guild credibility from both the Producers Guild of American and the Screen Actors Guild and had moved into a very shaky Oscar favorite role along with "The Departed" and Golden Globe best picture winner "Babel."

On the TV side, Jon Cassar of "24" and Richard Shepard of "Ugly Betty" took home dramatic and comedic episode trophies. Walter Hill of "Broken Trail" won for TV movie and Kenny Ortega of "High School Musical" won for children's programming.